Imperialism wasn't invented by the Europeans in modern history. Its roots trace back thousands of years to the ancient empires of Egypt, Macedonia, China and the Mayan, Aztec & Incan empires of Latin America. Ancient Greece & Rome brought the concept to Europe and, by the dawn of the so-called Age of (European) Exploration, Portugal & Spain continued the expansion of conquest and colonization. The lack of originality, however, doesn't detract from the undeniable fact that, during the ninteenth century, the (mostly) northern European nations "perfected" what had first been created all those millenia earlier.
Empires that began as trading posts, coaling stations for commercial and naval steamships and even prison colonies began to morph into something quite different. It was if someone flipped a switch to change the imperialism train from a track of commerce to one dedicated to using territorial acquisition as a means of measuring success and advancement against the similar achievements of competing nations. The French, Dutch, German, Belgians, Italians and, perhaps most notable of all, the British made a "mad dash" to acquire all they could around the globe, often risking confrontation and engaging in outright war both amongst themselves and with their unwillingly conquered subjects. Why would these so-called advanced nations risk so much to conquer territories as far-flung and seemingly little economic value as New Zealand, Madagascar, and British Guiana?
Section 1:
Section 2:
Section 3:
Section 4:
Section 5:
Section 6:
Video Lecture: Yale University Open Courseware - The New Imperialism (Professor John Merriman)
Introduction
Imperialism wasn't invented by the Europeans in modern history. Its roots trace back thousands of years to the ancient empires of Egypt, Macedonia, China and the Mayan, Aztec & Incan empires of Latin America. Ancient Greece & Rome brought the concept to Europe and, by the dawn of the so-called Age of (European) Exploration, Portugal & Spain continued the expansion of conquest and colonization. The lack of originality, however, doesn't detract from the undeniable fact that, during the ninteenth century, the (mostly) northern European nations "perfected" what had first been created all those millenia earlier.
Empires that began as trading posts, coaling stations for commercial and naval steamships and even prison colonies began to morph into something quite different. It was if someone flipped a switch to change the imperialism train from a track of commerce to one dedicated to using territorial acquisition as a means of measuring success and advancement against the similar achievements of competing nations. The French, Dutch, German, Belgians, Italians and, perhaps most notable of all, the British made a "mad dash" to acquire all they could around the globe, often risking confrontation and engaging in outright war both amongst themselves and with their unwillingly conquered subjects. Why would these so-called advanced nations risk so much to conquer territories as far-flung and seemingly little economic value as New Zealand, Madagascar, and British Guiana?
Section 1:
Section 2:
Section 3:
Section 4:
Section 5:
Section 6:
Video Lecture: Yale University Open Courseware - The New Imperialism (Professor John Merriman)
Video Lecture: UCLA Lectures in History - The New Imperialism & Mass Politics (Professor Lynn Hunt)
Bibliography:
Primary Sources:
Halsall, Paul. Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Imperialism (Fordham University)
Secondary Sources: